Tibetan group pays $4M for Queens property

The oldest and largest organization for Tibetans in North America has purchased an industrial building and adjoining vacant lot for $4.4 million in Woodside, Queens, and is planning an expansion of its communal and social services, as well as its affiliated school.

City records show that the Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey bought a 25,200-square-foot industrial building located at 32-01 57th Street between 32nd Avenue and Northern Boulevard; the vacant lot on 58th Street.

The Tibetan Community, headquartered at 241 East 32nd Street in Manhattan, was founded in 1979, and the group has long backed Tibet’s fight for independence. The organization does cultural programming, outreach to the Tibetan community and has a weekend school for Tibetan children.

Kunga Thinley, president of the Tibetan Community’s board of directors, said the organization is in the process of renovating the building, and that the renovation will be complete in about seven months. The commercial property was previously being used for storage, Thinley said.

The seller was the Woodside-based Elli Realty, public records show. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.